ECONOMY | PAGE 2 COMPANIES | PAGE 4 Workers’protestoverwage hiketurnsviolentinNoida INTERNATIONAL | PAGE 9 Sharon Pais takes charge as new CEO of Myntra NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2026 Orban era swept away in landslide Hungary poll FOLLOW US ON TWITTER & FACEBOOK. APP AVAILABLE ON APP STORE & PLAYSTORE WWW.FINANCIALEXPRESS.COM READ TO LEAD VOL LII NO. 38, 20 PAGES, `12 (PATNA & RAIPUR `12, SRINAGAR `15) P U B L I S H E D F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , B E N G A L U R U , C H A N D I G A R H , C H E N N A I , H Y D E R A B A D , K O C H I , K O L K ATA , L U C K N O W, M U M B A I , N E W D E L H I , P U N E SENSEX: 76,847.57 ▼ 702.68 NIFTY: 23,842.65 ▼ 207.95 NIKKEI 225: 56,502.77 ▼ 421.34 HANG SENG: 25,660.85 ▼ 232.69 `/$: 93.38 ▼ 0.65 `/€: 109.13 ▼ 0.53 BRENT: $102.01 ▲ $6.81 GOLD: `1,49,494 ▼ `152 IN THE NEWS COMPANIES PAGE 4 TCS NASHIK CASE: COO TO LEAD PROBE TATA SONS CHAIRMAN N Chandrasekaran on Monday said the group is treating the allegations at TCS’ Nashik office with “utmost seriousness” and that company COO Aarthi Subramanian will lead the probe into the matter, reports Urvi Malvania. Govt likely to roll out MSME credit cards this month THE CENTRE WILL likely roll out a lowcost credit card scheme for micro and small businesses later this month, in a move aimed at sharply reducing their borrowing costs, reports Prasanta Sahu. ■ PAGE 3 RBI returns Ujjivan SFB's plea for universal licence UJJIVAN SMALL FINANCE Bank said the RBI had returned its application to transition into a universal bank and asked it to reapply after achieving greater loan diversification, reports fe Bureau. ■ PAGE 7 FARM OUTPUT,INFLATION OUTLOOK UNDER CLOUD IMD flags weakest rainfall in a decade SANDIP DAS New Delhi, April 13 THE INDIA METEOROLOGICAL Department (IMD) on Mondayforecast a below-normal southwest monsoon for June-September, pegging rainfall at 92% of the long period average (LPA), with a high 66% probability of it falling in the “deficient to below-normal”range. If realised,this would mark the weakest monsoon since 2015, when rainfall was 86% of the benchmark. The past two years saw above-normal rains, while 2023 recorded a below-normal season. A weak monsoon couldweigh on agricultural output, dent rural demand,and stoke inflation— though the share of rainfed crops in total farm output has declined in recent years. The timingandspatialdistribution of rainfall will remain critical for crop yields. Slightly over half of India’s net sown area is rainfed, with coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds and cotton particularlydependent on the southwest monsoon.TheIMDsaidglobalmodels indicate a high probability of El Niño conditions developing during August-September, with the possibility of a strong or even “super” El Niño, which typicallybringshighertemperatures andweaker rains. Continued on Page 11 EL NIÑO RISK RISES Forecasts^ vs performance (% of LPA*) 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Forecast Performance 101 99 103 106 96 94 106 108 106 108 2026** 92 ^2nd long range forecast, *LPA (long period average) is average annual rainfall (87cm) recorded between 1971-2020, ** first long range forecast Prediction dampens FMCG demand view VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 13 ongoing war in West Asia. Price hikes have begun in select categories to mitigate A BELOW-NORMAL MON- input cost pressure, hurting SOON this year may test the the demand revival that rural recovery within urban areas were India’s fast-moving »INSIDE« beginning to see after consumer goods the government initiEDIT: (FMCG) sector, dis- MONSOON ated GST 2.0 reforms BLUES rupting the growth in September last year. outlook for FY27. Executives also point PAGE 8 The early forecast to the impact on disof below-normal rains by the cretionary categories such as India Meteorological Depart- consumer durables and automent (IMD) comes at a time mobiles in the second half of when FMCG companies are the year with deficit rainfall. dealing with inflationary pressures triggered by the Continued on Page 11 CPI inflation at 13-month high of 3.4% KULDEEP SINGH New Delhi, April 13 INDIA’S HEADLINE RETAIL inflation rose to a 13-month high of 3.4% year-on-year in March, edging up from 3.21% in February, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation(MoSPI)onMonday. The rise was largely driven by higherfood,fuelandgoldprices. The impact of the WestAsia war on the consumer price index (CPI)was moderate,as oil companies refrained from hiking auto fuel prices due to strong refining margins and excise cuts by the government. However, the index may increaseinthecomingmonths. The headline inflation figure remained below the RBI’s medium-termtargetof4%for the 14th consecutive month. StraitopentoIndia,ships didn’tpaytoll:Iranenvoy FE BUREAU & AGENCIES New Delhi, April 13 INDIAN TANKERS THAT have transited through the Strait of Hormuz did not pay tolls to Iran, Tehran’s ambassador to New Delhi said on Monday, after US President Donald Trump vowed to block passage for vessels making payments to Iran and threatened to “eliminate” any Iranian DONALD TRUMP, US PRESIDENT Ifanyof...(Iran’sfast attack)shipscome anywhereclosetoour BLOCKADE,theywill beimmediately ELIMINATED »INSIDE« EXPLAINER: HOW US HOPES TO PRESSURE IRAN P9 IRAN THREATENS RETALIATION P9 warships that come “anywhere close” to the US blockade of the key shipping route. “You can ask the Indian government if we have charged anything up to now,” Ambassador Mohammad Fathali told reporters at a briefing at Iran’s embassy. “In this difficult time, we have good relations. We believe Iran and India share common interests and a common fate,” he added. Continued on Page 11 Continued on Page 11 Indiastaresat second-order effects:Experts SAURAVANAND New Delhi, April 13 A COMPLETE BLOCKADE of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as announced by US President Donald Trump, would have minimal direct impact on India’s immediate crude flows but the secondorder effects could be significant, experts have said. However,Trump’s announcement of the blockade led to a surge in crude oil prices above the $100-per-barrel mark again, putting India’s energy lifeline under pressure. Continued on Page 11 NadirGodrejhandsoverthereinstoPirojsha VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO Mumbai, April 13 GODREJ INDUSTRIES ON Monday announced a leadership transition at the GodrejIndustriesGroup(GIG), with Nadir Godrej set to step down as chairperson and Pirojsha Godrej named as his successor,markingaplannedgenerational shift within the conglomerate. The succession plan follows the 2024 restructuring of the wider Godrej Group into two entities — GIG,led by Adi and Nadir Godrej, and the Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG), led by Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Crishna. GEG houses businesses spanning locks, consumer durables, engineering and defence, while GIG operates across consumer goods, real estate, financial services,agriculture and chemicals. Continued on Page 11 GENERATIONAL SHIFT Iamconfidentthatthenext generationofleadership willcontinuetobuildon ourlegacyandvalues NADIR GODREJ New Delhi Weinherita remarkable legacy...ourtask nowistobuild onitwith ambition... PIROJSHA GODREJ